Toronto: Despite the slight drizzle and over-cast sky, thousands of Bollywood fans descended upon Silver Brampton’s cineplex to catch stars, including Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi and Mallika Sherawat walk the eco-friendly green carpet rolled out for the 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards on Thursday.
The stars were attending the world-premiere of Double Dhamaal, a comedy featuring Sanjay Dutt and Warsi. Though Dutt did not turn up, the rest of the Bollywood batallion made up for his absence.
Follow the tabloid! blog straight from the IIFA awards in Toronto
“It was overwhelming to see so many Bollywood fans in Toronto. When I came here last in January to launch the IIFAs, the tickets were sold out in eight minutes. That shows how much they love Bollywood – and mind you they bought the tickets without even knowing the list of stars performing,” said Kapoor.
Frenzied fans
Deafening chants with frenzied fans calling out their names was the order of the evening. Sherawat, who plays the role of Sanjay Dutt’s wife in Double Dhamaal, utilized the green-carpet to talk up her forthcoming cross-over venture Politics Of Love. She brought along her co-star from the same film Brian J White to strengthen her campaign.
“It’s a beautiful romantic story told in the most humorous way,” said Sherawat. Meanwhile, Warsi was making the most of the frenzy that he was whipping up.
“I love this – this is what I have worked for all these years – as an actor,” said Warsi pointing to his numerous fans chanting his name.
“They will even love Double Dhamaal better because it’s one of those unpretentious comedies – it’s in your face and you can’t help but love it,” he added. Actors Irrfan Khan, Lisa Ray and Ashish Chaudhry added to the star-wattage.
Press conference
Earlier in the day, a star-led press conference kicked off the three-day IIFA extravaganza.
Actors including Bipasha Basu, Boman Irani, Dia Mirza, Riteish Deshmukh and singer Sonu Nigam turned up to lend their support and launch the glitzy affair. But the highlight was singer Jermaine Jackson’s admission that he had grown up watching Bollywood films.
“We loved the dance, the costumes, the entertainment, the set design and that's what inspired us a great deal.... So I'm very honoured to be here,” said Jackson who will perform with Bollywood pop singer Sonu Nigam as a tribute to his iconic brother Michael Jackson.
Meanwhile, dozens of Indian fans are also camping outside the Fairmont York Hotel until midnight hoping to spot a few stars.
“We have been here all day – we can’t afford the IIFA tickets but so far we have seen Riteish Deshmukh, Zayed Khan, Bipasha Basu, Mallika Sherawat getting into the hotel. Some even stopped for autographs – But we are all waiting for Shah Rukh Khan – he is our favourite,” said Nehal Patel, a university student. Khan is tipped to perform on June 25 despite nursing a knee injury.
The IIFA Awards, billed as Bollywood's Oscars, will conclude on June 25.
